Had these five w/ Susan this weekend:
1. Solminer Sunhoney SantaBarbaraCnty (12.3%; 50% R/35% GrunerVeltliner/15% Viog; Cofrmtd on skins) Buellton: Med.bronze color; fairly strong resiny/phenolic/VM some floral/gardenias slight earthy/dusty bit orangey/honeycomb interesting/complex nose; quite tart/tangy/metallic rather austere quite phenolic/VM/resiny light floral/orangey/honeycomb some earthy low fruit interesting savory flavor w/ light tannins; long quite tart/tangy/metallic strong VM/phenolic rather austere/severe little fruit finish w/ light tannins;a lack of any varietal fruit; dominated on the palate by the phenolic/VM character; not fun to taste now but should be a very interesting wine w/ 4-8 yrs of age; a solid VM w/ potential. $36.00/$32.40
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2. Deperu Holler Fria DOCG: Vermentino di Gallina Superiore (14%; www.DeperuHoller.com; KermitLynch/Berkeley Carlo Deperu/Perfugas/Sardinia 2020: Deep golden color; lightly phenolic/VM/resiny strong Verm/floral/carnations/orangy rather savory/saline slight earthy fairly complex nose; quite tart/tangy some VM/phenolic/skin-contact/resiny quite savory/very saline some Verm/floral/carnations lightly tannic quite complex flavor; very long/lingering quite saline/savory some VM/phenolic/resiny some Verm/floral/carnations/mariglds/pungentslightly tannic quite complex finish; a beautiful very savory/saline expression of Verm that you can actually taste the nearby seawater; a bit pricey at $37.00 (KK)
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3. BertramBaltes Handwerk Spatburgunder Ahr Q (12%; SchatziImprts/Milan/NY; www.Bertram-Baltes.De) Julia Bertram/Dernau/Klingenberg/Ahr 2018: Dark color; lightly floral/black cherry/PN/spicy rather earthy/loamy light toasty/oak fairly deep rather interesting nose; fairly tart rather earthy/loamy/rustic some black cherry/PN/bit floral/violets light toasty/oak/smokey fairly complex flavor w/ modest bitey tannins; very long finish that mimics the flavor; fairly deep & intense for a German Spatburgunder; can use a few more yrs; fairly priced at $27.50 (KK)
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4. Tenebres G.S.M. IGP: Pays d'Oc RW (13.5%; PlumeRidge/Claremont/CA; www.PlumeRidge.com; 33% Grenache/33% Syrah/33% Mourv) Carcassonne 2020: Very dark color; very strong plummy/blackberry/ripe boysenberry big fruit very slight earthy slight toasty/oak quite attractive nose; rather soft/lush very strong plummy/boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah slight strawberry/plummy bit earthy big fruit flavor w/ modest soft/ripe tannins; very long soft/lush/ripe/big fruit blackberry/plummy/Syrah very light oak slight earthy finish w/ modest soft tannins; speaks more of Paso or WashState Syrah than French; not the coarse/rustic/hard character you usually find in Pays d'Oc reds; quite a tasty GSM that speaks more of Syrah than Grenache or Mourv; nothing profound but a real steal at $7.00 (TJ)
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5. SheehanWnry Turas NM (18.5%; 100% LateHrvst Syrah fortified w/ brandy) Albq 2020: Very dark near black color; intense blackberry/boysenberry/very ripe Syrah light toasty/oak somewhat chocolaty slight alcoholic bit complex nose; rather sweet (6%-8% r.s.) some fumey/alcoholic rather soft intense chocolaty very strong ripe/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/smucker's boysenberry jammy light toasty/oak some comlex flavor w/ little tannin; very long/lingering bit alcoholic finish that mimics the chocolaty flavor; a ton of very ripe Syrah fruit w/o being raisened or pruney; a very interesting expression of a Syrah Angelica w/ loads of chocolaty character; very fair price of $22.00/hlf (KK)
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More vittlesperk from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. The Deperu Verm I was quite impressed with. Essence of minerality. It is a natural wine but absolutely clean/well-made w/ no hints of natty character. Should age very well for a number of yrs.
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2. I was doing some bottom shopping at TraderJoe's on Fri and saw this new wine from Tenebres, so thought I'd give it a shot. Nothing profound but performs well above its pay grade.
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3. Turas: Had the Fiona white/VidalBlanc from Sheehan last week & was rather impressed by it as a dessert/Angelica. So wanted to give the Turas/Syrah a try as well. An even better expression of a dessert angelica. Like most angelicas, I doubt it will ever develop much complexity w/ ago. This is the kind of dessert wines they should be making here in NM.
Tom